FOX News Poll: Bush Approval Rating Hits New Low

NEW YORK – Americans are giving bad grades all around. President Bush’s job approval rating now stands at 31 percent, the lowest ever in the FOX News poll, and almost twice as many Americans say they disapprove of the president’s job performance. And those harsh sentiments extend down Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill. Six months after the new Democratically-controlled Congress convened, the poll finds that Americans are dissatisfied with the job both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are doing.

Opinion Dynamics Corp. conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters for FOX News from June 26 to June 27. The poll has a 3-point error margin.

Bush’s ratings have been in the thirties for the last several months. Since the midterm election, the president’s approval has ranged from a high of 38 percent (January and April) to a low of 33 percent in March. Today, 31 percent of Americans say they approve and 60 percent disapprove.

• Click here to view full results of the poll. (pdf)

Declining support from key constituencies has clearly contributed to the diminishing rating. Today 61 percent of Republicans say they approve — the lowest rating ever among this group. Approval among conservatives is now at 46 percent and 42 percent among Born-Again Christians.

"Some Republican legislators have recently made statements disagreeing with actions by the administration. These statements are mirroring attitudes of many Republican voters across the nation," said Opinion Dynamics Vice President Lawrence Shiman.

The overall picture is similar for Congress. Just over a third of Americans — 36 percent — approve of the job Democrats in Congress are doing, about the same as their 37 percent rating in October 2006, prior to taking control of both the House and Senate, and 49 percent disapprove.

The ratings are slightly worse for Republicans in Congress, as 30 percent approve today, down from 34 percent (24-25 October 2006), and 56 percent disapprove.

Republicans are more dissatisfied with the job their party is doing in Congress than Democrats are with their party.

Among Democrats, 59 percent approve and 28 disapprove of the job Democrats are doing in Congress. Among Republicans, 16 percent approve and 72 percent disapprove.

On the other side, 51 percent of Republicans approve and 37 percent disapprove of the job their party is doing. Among Democrats, 18 percent approve and 72 percent disapprove of Republicans on Capitol Hill.